WEB SUBMIT Dublin 2015

B. - 17/02/16

In 5 years, Web Summit has grown from 400 attendees to over 42,000 from more than 134 countries. It’s been called “the best technology conference on the planet”. But we just think it‘s different. And that difference works for our attendees, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the world’s most exciting startups. French startups report ever more sources of support, both from ordinary people who are financing their projects, to the championing by government of the sector. Crowdfunding is becoming so popular it is almost fashionable: the amount raised doubled in a year from €65 million in the first half of 2014 to €133 million in the same period this year. In the meantime, the number of French lenders or donors had grown

from 1 million people to 1.75 million. The French government has played a key role in the growth of crowdfunding by leading a committed reform that screated a regulatory framework every bit as flexible as in the United States and is breaking the monopoly of banks.

Meanwhile, some of France’s biggest companies, Vinci, Axa, Orange, BNP Paribas, Altran or La Poste have significantly increased their role in open innovation, helping startups getting to the next stage as illustrated in this catalogue.